View allAll Photos Tagged IMPERATIVES
C'est une utopie d'imaginer pouvoir aller à contre sens du système. Il nous est possible de changer de voie parfois, mais il est impératif que restions dans la même direction.
It is a utopia to imagine that we can go against the system. It is possible for us to change our way sometimes, but it is imperative that we stay in the same direction.
Macro-Mondays-Danger
This is a tiny seed head on our huge Parsnip plant. Parsnips are Photo-Toxins. It is imperative that you don't get any of the plant's sap on your skin if you're out in the sunlight. It can cause a horrible painful rash. Cow Parsnips are another plant that does this, so when around them be extremely careful.
While the root of the parsnip is edible, handling the shoots and leaves of the plant requires caution as the sap is toxic.[32] Like many other members of the family Apiaceae, the parsnip contains furanocoumarins, phototoxic chemicals that cause a condition known as phytophotodermatitis.[32] Symptoms include redness, burning, and blisters; afflicted areas can remain discolored for up to two years.[33] Reports of gardeners experiencing toxic symptoms after coming into contact with foliage have been made but these have been small in number compared to the number of people who grow the crop. The problem is most likely to occur on a sunny day when gathering foliage or pulling up old plants that have gone to seed. The symptoms have mostly been mild to moderate.[34]
The toxic properties of parsnip extracts are resistant to heating, and, to periods of storage lasting several months. Toxic symptoms can also affect livestock and poultry in parts of their bodies where their skin is exposed.[3]:221-222 Polyynes can be found in Apiaceae vegetables such as parsnip, and they show cytotoxic activities.[35] " en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parsnip
Because this project required a very specific type of light, I had to shoot over two evenings with similar conditions. It was also imperative to work quickly in the fading light and to alter my settings for outcome rather than the conditions.
By the time I got around to eating breakfast it was brunch time, so that's what I went with. I was lucky to find this Paelo turkey bacon, it has no sugar in it like some bacon does. That is why I read labels. With so much diabetes in my family, it's imperative to be careful.
Validation is a wonderful thing. In fact, I would argue that all of us need validation in the things that we do. It’s a vital part of what keeps us going. If you’ve ever received a compliment on one of your photographs, or even something like an award, then you know the sense of pride and accomplishment that comes with it—and the renewed vigor with which you go out to create new, even better photographs than the ones that earned you those accolades in the first place.
All of this is a natural, normal phenomenon that is quite healthy and perhaps even vital to keep us going. But there is a dark side to validation, too. There are times, I think, when the need for validation is so extremely deep that it just goes too far.
It is, I think, imperative that we all occasionally take a moment for self-reflection into this matter. I have seen instances in which the drive for validation was so overwhelming that it ultimately not only soured an individual’s taste for their passion, but even led to estrangement among former friends all sharing that same passion.
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And so when I speak of this idea that we need to sometimes introspect on our own need for validation, what I would say is this: The first thing we must do is we must search within ourselves and learn why it is that we feel driven to create photographs. This means digging deep into our own psyches to ferret out the true reasons for doing it.
Truth be told, there can be so many reasons to get into photography. The need to be recognized for a talent can be one of them, but perhaps you also feel compelled to learn about the subjects you are photographing. Maybe you have a scientific interest in photography and painting with light. Perhaps there is just something about manipulating color, light, or geometry that appeals to you and leaves you feeling satisfied on a deep level.
Any number of these things can be reasons, or you could have reasons of your own—and in fact, you could find that there is not one singular reason to create, but a variety of them. I suspect that variety is the answer for most people. Photography is art, science, and constant learning all wrapped into one, which means it will scratch a great many of our itches at once.
As I’ve said, you will probably also find that the need for validation is one of the reasons why you create photographs. This is where things get tricky because, on the surface, there is absolutely nothing wrong with pursuing validation and recognition for your efforts. Of course those of us who are passionate about our art will want to show it to people. We’re excited for what we’ve created, we hope others will like it, too, and when they do, that validates us and our excitement.
If we put the need for validation on a spectrum, then this is the healthy end of the spectrum. Now, what lies at the unhealthy end of the spectrum?
On the unhealthy side, things start to distort. Here, you will find validation is king. All other things come secondary to that need. Creating photographs is no longer about a passion for colors or geometry. It’s no longer about learning about your subject material. It’s no longer focused on a person’s fascination for the science behind the art.
In a nutshell, when the need for validation takes over and becomes an unhealthy thing, the victim’s photography is no longer about producing a quality, meaningful product. Rather, it becomes a mass-produced thing in which the victim seeks to create as many “good” photographs as rapidly as they can so that once the buzz dies down from their last project, they have something to show to get that buzz going again.
And this is where the validation turns into a vicious cycle—or perhaps more accurately, a downward spiral into not only bitterness, but also the opposite of the intended goal, which is the lack of validation.
You see, when this goes far enough, people will excitedly throw their mass-produced work out into the world—perhaps on social media or elsewhere. Except, this work was produced only with validation in mind, which leads to work that carries no real meaning or interest for most people. Thus, the work gains no attention, and the artist remains unvalidated. But the need to get that validation is so great that after the work flops, they hastily toss something new out, hoping it will capture what the previous work did not.
It’s a sad cycle—and worse, the people trapped in it are often so focused on this need to get that validation that they stop listening to their peers. It’s almost like an addiction. The goal is to get the fix, and everything else is drowned out by this need. While the world may be telling someone stuck in this cycle to slow down, to put meaning and personal growth ahead of the praise, they just can’t. And I’m sure you can see where this would create conflict, not only of the internal kind, but among groups of peers, too. So what is the lesson here? It’s that all things are best when in balance. Of course, we all want validation—and we all need and deserve it, too. But when validation becomes the primary objective, it can become a dangerous beast.
Now go and enjoy the beauty of God’s creation through your lens.
Learn more: WillMoneymaker.com
"`Know thy God' (I Chron. 28:9) rather than `Know Thyself' is the categorical imperative of the biblical man. There is no self-understanding without God-understanding.”
-Abraham Joshua Heschel, (as quoted in Edward K. Kaplan, Spiritual Radical: Abraham Joshua Heschel in America, 1940-1972)
Racism is an evil of tremendous power, but God's will transcends all powers. Surrender to despair is surrender to evil. It is important to feel anxiety, it is sinful to wallow in despair. What we need is a total mobilization of the heart, intelligence, and wealth for the purpose of love and justice. God is in search of men, waiting, hoping for man to do His will.
-Heschel, "The Religious Basis of Equality of Opportunity: The Segregation of God" (1963)
It is imperative that we implement a system of ecolonomic homeostasis to fight against the current anthropotechnogenic economic, social and environmental crises. Recent global economic and political instability has revealed the shortcomings of our current capitalist system. It further confirms the necessity for an ultramodern paradigm shift. On account of the deleterious impact of the financialization of the economic ecosystem, we must introduce an oligopolistic system that can be sustainably managed. The Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) is what is needed to fulfill our sustainable development goals. Environmental awareness must be the center of our ethos as we work to reduce our anthroposphere periphery in pursuit of global co-immunity. Not only must we manipulate living organisms through science and engineering to create commodities, we must also manipulate the Anthropos through cryptoeconomic engineering.
This new cryptospheric ecotechnic cybernetic system will revolve around a cyber-physical environmental intelligence. This transhuman technosphere of 15 minute city ecoregions will adopt a sustainable economic welfare system that will revolve around harvesting the body’s energy. You will be a collective of communities, a multitude of capital. We will combine biomimetics and thermoeconomics to economically rebalance the core-periphery dynamic. Xenocommodification: all money creation must have biophysical embedding—666. This thermalisation of thermoeconomics will be globally self-replicated.
In short: take the Mark of the Beast and become transhuman—embrace the techno-Beast system, because techno-animism is the way of the future!
These nerds want an economic system that revolves around the environment—a Social Credit Score System that will be linked to your Carbon Footprint and to the United Nations 17 goals of Sustainable Development. The ultimate goal is to tie this eco-economic system together with transhumanism—the merging of man and microchip…data capitalism (data totalitarianism).
Warning: “Constantly be on your guard so that your hearts will not be loaded down with self-indulgence, drunkenness, and the worries of this life, or that day will take you by surprise like a trap, because it will come on everyone who lives on the face of the earth. So be alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place and to take your stand in the presence of the Son of Man.” (Luke 21:34-36)
Signs with the word "sauf" (except) are very entertaining for Germans. "Saufen" (imperative: sauf) means to drink alcohol. Best sign is "sauf bus".
Posted on November 30, 2020 🇺🇸
Missing three letter agencies?
Today's Arizona public hearing here.
I probably will get censored today so look for the live feed yourself, please. Yes, there is censorship going on. Ask your heart about this election. Do you really think it was fair with all the information that are coming out now? Do you? Ask your heart... I'm not affiliated with any party. But I love America and its freedom. Do you?
I post these airshow photos because these are the most patriotic photos I have. Follow the paths of other patriots. Remember, the entire world is watching. It's cyber warfare and we all watched it happen on TV right before our eyes. Where were you?
Why does the voting machines have set algorithm and weighted vote feature that can be manipulated and changed in the machines for?
Ngozi is pinned by her son Nassir - whose imperative prevails here.
For angelnfreefall. (This is the closest I get to street photography these days. Unfortunately.)
I have always been fascinated by the natural history of the earth. From its formation as a rocky planet to the first life forms that created our oxygen filled atmosphere, and on through all the myriad forms of life that have filled every niche, no matter how harsh. We know that the building blocks necessary for life seem to be spread fairly uniformly throughout the universe, and that there are potentially billions of planets that could harbor life. Even if you take a very pessimistic view, it would seem that there is very probably millions of other planets with life. If you again take a pessimistic view of how many of those planets have the necessary conditions to evolve sentient beings capable of tool use, that still leaves hundreds or thousands of planets. The next step is the big one. How many of these tool users became technology developers? Maybe only a few, and of those few are any of them coincident with our time as technology users? Given the distances involved and the problem of a very short span where we could have coincided, it seems to me unlikely that we will ever come in contact with sentient beings from another planet. I believe that there is sentient life somewhere in the universe now, that there has been sentient life in places in the past, that is no longer extant, and that there is life evolving towards sentience somewhere that we won't survive to see.
I guess if you are building the perfect fishing machine, it would be imperative that you use Marty Feldman eyes.
© Cynthia E. Wood
www.cynthiawoodphoto.com | FoundFolios | facebook | Blurb | Instagram @cynthiaewood
... so that a tree will rot where it falls,
a waterfall will pour its curve without generating electricity,
a trumpeter swan may float on uncontaminated water -
and moderns may at least see what their ancestors knew in their nerves and blood.
Bernand De Voto
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Use without permission is illegal.
With her Florida haircut, a fuzzy coat was an imperative addition to her wardrobe... although it took some time for her to adjust, she was enjoying the snow like a true snow dog!!
Larger - View On White
For a short time a pair of common frogs (Rana temporaria) are physically and figuratively united by the genetic imperative.
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps) - Biolab Road, Canaveral National Seashore, Titusville, Florida
Always cool to see them with their pied bill,
and thinkin' about the second imperative.
This is Annie.
You can be honest.....it's ok, really.
We know she's not a ravishing beauty. We know. And....we adore her. She is the funniest kitty and probably clinically crazy.
She was a scruffy little rescue kitty when we got her.
She grew. So did her hair.
And Annie's hygiene is.....how can I put this delicately.....non-existent.
Until we got Molly....another rescue.
Molly is a lady, smooth silky pretty.....and is fastidious (read obsessive) about her grooming.
Even tho Annie had territorial imperative, one day Molly looked at her and must have thought no no this will not do. She leaped across the room in a single bound, tackled Annie, wrestled her to the ground and literally got her in a strangle hold.
And began grooming her. She licked her so furiously we thought she was going to lick all Annie's hair off. Annie didn't know what hit her.
When she was done, Annie's hair was standing up in soaking wet spikes.
She has now, in self defense, taken to occasional self grooming.
Today was apparently not one of those occasions.
Molly had a go at her tonight.
I think Annie kind of looks like a dowager princess here.
But I could be looking through the eyes of love. ;-)
Our Canadians prefer to live locally and do not "fly north to Canada". The reason is explained here:
The populations of the geese were greatly reduced by hunting and as a result of the Canada geese repopulation effort they do not have the imperative to nest in Canada since they are born here in the U.S. . Resident geese nest here, where their ancestors were forced to nest. And since the climate is temperate in our area and the water bodies do not freeze for long periods of time, the resident Canada geese have no need to fly south to find open water and grass in the winter. Migratory geese nest in Canada because that is where they were born. California born Canadian Geese prefer area of open water and good grass to munch on right here in the Bay Area.
Canadian geese mate for life with one partner unless their mate dies. Once their mate does die they will find another goose to mate with. Canadian geese have an average lifespan of 24 years. They can be found in many habitats where there are grains or berries available, and they live throughout most of North America.
With terrain like that in Arabia Terra, it’s considered imperative to get more images to create stereo pairs for 3D images. Even without a 3D image, we can appreciate measuring the thickness of the abundant layers here.
Image cutout is less than 5 km (3 mi) top to bottom across and the spacecraft altitude was 278 km (173 mi). For full observation details including images with scale bars, visit the source link.
NASA/JPL-Caltech/Arizona
An F-22 Raptor takes off from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, for a training sortie March 24, 2016. Training sorties are imperative to pilot development and overall mission effectiveness. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman James Richardson)
Once the major cities in the DRC and Zambia had been retaken, the only Eurasian strongholds remaining were their bases scattered throughout Central Africa. Some of these were located near a few of the major cities, but many were in remote and distant locations, having helped kept them hidden prior to Operation Isandlwana. To ensure Central Africa remained under UFA control we knew it was imperative to stomp out the Eurasian presence at these bases and preemptively end any chance at them reigniting the war from within. Multiple strike teams consisting of Oceania Advanced Infantry were again called in after their exemplary performance at the port of Soyo and airstrips throughout the region. Led by ranking members of the UFA, these teams infiltrated all the various Eurasian bases, killing the soldiers and higher ranking officers.
After we had taken out the Eurasian presence in Kinshasa the final mission of Operation Cetshwayo was taking out the Eurasian bases. My squad and I were sent on from Kinshasa up to the base near Kisangani, while other strike teams were deployed at the other bases. Our objective was simple: infiltrate the base and kill everyone. Then, destroy the base so as to make sure no one else could use the remaining supplies. This would be the final blow to Eurasia’s efforts in Central Africa, and with it we would be able to annex the DRC and Zambia, using their resources to further the UFA’s strength.
-Log of UFA Lieutenant Melokuhle Dlamini
EPILOGUE:
Operation Cetshwayo was over, and a resounding success. Eurasia’s presence in Central Africa was completely pushed out, with no remaining bases or forces left in the DRC or Zambia. All that remained were a few rough militant and rebel groups that had received funding from Eurasia before the start of the war, and without Eurasia’s continued presence these groups would be able to be easily eliminated as well. UFA casualties had been very low, and the alliance with Oceania had proven extremely useful as their operatives had been highly successful on the specialized objectives they were called in for. After taking the cities of the DRC and Zambia, the UFA also now had control of much of sub-Saharan Africa, and the resources gained from their invasion would be invaluable in continuing their ascent up the world power chain.
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The third and final part of my entry into the Operation Cetshwayo contest for the World in Darkness group. Part 1 can be viewed here, and part 2 here.
Decently happy with this scene, I like most of it a lot except for the window on the left, the foliage outside that didn't turn out as I had wanted. However I'm quite happy with the lighting for this and most of the rest of it, hope you all like it and that you enjoyed these three scenes for this story!
My story starts with a painful process of removing every hair of my beard one by one, with my faithful tweezer, The results, sometimes, speaks for itself. I *had* to take this picture and share it -- it was "imperative", after everything I endured (I don't want to glorify me) but the things I do, to approach beauty? Well. In this case, I'm satisfied with what I see, it looks like MY skin, MY face, MY age, MY degree of feminity which always tends to increase with time and experience. It's only in my head but, boy!, does it feel good. Have yourself a merry beginning of the year. Crazier than the last? A year in anyone's life is a relatively large chunk of someone's "transformation". Take me : time seems to only make me more beautiful XXX True? What is true, I ask you? The fact that I'm not a woman? But who am I? Somewhere in beautiful Eastern Canada, among the cold and the snow in which we live a fair part of the year. At any rate, I'm glad to be (whoever I am) here, with you, dear friends. It feels like my second home but perhaps my "true" home? Until I "transcend" my male existence in a way I don't see yet. It's quite a mental challenge to allow oneself the privilege of straddling both sexes, but in a way that gives me the impression that I "complete myself"? Very weird kind of feeling.
As the inevitable war with the Queen draws nearer, recruiting new troops is imperative. Sir Alethius Sallustius resorts to his home village outside the iron mines along the northernmost part of Loreos. He puts forth his effort to help the cause by recruiting the iron miners from his home village. He gives them the opportunity to do their part for their nation by mining iron to supply the Loreesi armory forges. The miners rejoiced at the news to have the chance to support their glorious nation of Loreos.
For The Glory of Loreos
Here's my entry to the GCVI Unrestricted category.The total size is 64x48, including the border.
Stay tuned for the next chapter of the story of Alethius Sallustius.
-Enjoy
Fortran (Formula Translation) is a high-performance, compiled, imperative programming language, established in 1957 as the first high-level language.
It's imperative to get it at the right angle.
We're Here, & totally centred Man...
Hand-held & remote triggered strobe.
Get a move on at Pelcomb Portraits.
One of these days I'm gonna listen to this record. It's imperative that I do.
UPDATE: Found out that the artist is William "Bill" Dugan.
It is not always imperative that something has an actual function to attribute an essential role to it. And so it frequently happens that a position in itself does not add any value to life or society except to ensure personal economic survival.
Without survival, there is no future existence, and therefore, this aspect, of course, has its relevance. It is admittedly easy to encounter the results of this dilemma almost every day. Still, the problem is that if you only do whatever you do because you need to, things will always turn out a little bit botched. Typically, this leads to long-term dissatisfaction.
Yet, anyone who has ever been hopelessly lost in something quickly realized the satisfaction of doing so. And if you didn’t do things just for the sake of doing them, you suddenly would have entirely different demands on yourself that indeed reflect in the outcome. In the end, if you dare to consider them, there might be even other options to ensure future living.
(Dome of the great Synagogue in Rome)
Not the ex-Batman, but rather an alien whose ship crash landed and froze in Alaska. He was discovered by STAR Labs and was unfrozen thanks to Cyborg's mom's research. He fell in love with Omen and became the guardian of the psychically-lobotomized Brother Blood after the fall of the Church of Blood.
Like in many other photographs featured in this album, this bird was feeding in the rain out of necessity. It was imperative to obtain calories after a crossing of Lake Superior, even if in this case its migration north might have been completed.
“In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer. And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there’s something stronger – something better, pushing right back.”
A friend reminded me of this quote from Albert Camus, a friend going through very rough times with much grace, and it reminded me of all the difficult times in my own life and the hardships my dear ones face. How graceful and imperative it is to prolong the invincible summer yet how unreasonably arduous!
Some interesting information about honey bees...
1. On the maiden flight of the Queen bee, she mates with about 20 drones.
2. The testicles of the male honey bee explodes during orgasm and then he dies.
3. The queen been stores the sperm for up to 10 years… she never mates again.
*** Protecting and preserving honey bees is imperative to the well-being of mankind!
Since the mid 2000, honey bees have been disappearing all throughout the world. Because bees assist with the pollination process of plants, their decline could have an enormous impact on all of us.
Before escaping the chaos of the capital city, it’s imperative to take some time to get lost in the Forbidden City. Even when it’s crowded, there are limitless photo opportunities. Today, I focused not only on the place itself, but also on it’s visitors, and how they reacted to it.
I also had a little fun processing the shot, and gave it a small tilt-shift effect, miniaturising the crowd ;-)
No Group Invites/Graphics Please.
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Cavendish Mews is a smart set of flats in Mayfair where flapper and modern woman, the Honourable Lettice Chetwynd has set up home after coming of age and gaining her allowance. To supplement her already generous allowance, and to break away from dependence upon her family, Lettice has established herself as a society interior designer, so her flat is decorated with a mixture of elegant antique Georgian pieces and modern Art Deco furnishings, using it as a showroom for what she can offer to her well heeled clients.
It is evening at Cavendish Mews, and like many other evenings, Lettice has had , her old childhood chum, Gerald, join her for a quiet dinner, just the two of them. Whilst Gerald is also a member of the aristocracy who has tried to gain some independence from his family by designing gowns from a shop in Grosvenor Street, his underlying reasons differ greatly from Lettice’s. Their families’ properties may neighbour one another, but whereas the Chetwynds have weathered the storms of war, tax increases and the necessity to modernise that the Twentieth Century has dealt them, the Brutons, Gerald’s parents, have not been so fortunate. Gerald has a paltry allowance from his father, which has only dwindled since the family has been beset by more financial difficulties in the last few years, so the success of his fledgling couture house is imperative for his survival. Luckily, as well as being handsome, Gerald is charming, and has therefore been invited by friends to enjoy their largess and he often dines out at the cost of others. Lettice may be Gerald’s best friend, and her dinner invitation is always welcome, however the evening offers more than just a free meal for Gerald. By bringing some of his sewing, he can use Lettice’s electricity rather than his own, dealing him a small saving, and both of them may enjoy one another’s company as part of the arrangement.
Lettice usually sits and works at her Hepplewhite desk next to the fire in her drawing room, whilst Gerald sews a piece of one of his latest creations for a customer in the comfort of one of Lettice’s arm chairs, but tonight Lettice is enjoying a night of freedom and is sitting in her Art Deco tub arm chair contentedly reading a copy of the Daily Mail and watching Gerald sitting across from her, embroidering the collar of what will soon be a new outfit for her. Whilst they chat and drink one of Lettice’s fine French champagne, they both enjoy the gift of a shiny new brass wireless, a gift from Selwyn Spencely, the future Duke of Mumford, whom Lettice has been seeing socially for a little over a year now.
“I must say,” Gerald remarks as he takes a sip of champagne and settles back with Lettice’s collar into her comfortable tub chair. “Spencely’s gift really does make what was already a wonderful evening even better.” He glances at the shining brass wireless. “It really is ripping getting to listen to music without even leaving the comfort of home.”
“Or the comfort of someone else’s home.” Lettice adds with a cheeky smile, taking a sip of champagne from her own tall glass flute.
“Indeed.” Gerald murmurs, glancing down at the fine pale orange stitches he is adding to a floral motif on the collar as his face flushes. Even though Lettice is aware of Gerald’s financial situation, and she is happy to let Gerald do some work at her flat to help him save money, it is still a point of embarrassment for Gerald and he tries not to let Lettice see him blush. “Mind you,” he adds. “You’ll do well out of this bargain, my darling.” He holds up the collar so Lettice can admire the large petals in pink and orange that radiate around the large Peter Pan collar*.
“Oh, it’s lovely, Gerald!” Lettice enthuses as she reaches across the coffee table and touches the looped embroidery around the edge of the collar, worked in a fine golden apricot. “Elizabeth is going to love it!”
“I hope you are the one who is going to love it, Lettice darling.” Gerald remarks, placing the collar back in his lap. “After all you will be the one wearing it, not Elizabeth.”
Lettice sighs. “I don’t think anyone will care about what I’m wearing to Elizabeth’s wedding**.”
“And so they shouldn’t.” Gerald retorts with a snort. Seeing the hurt in his best friend’s eyes at his statement, he quickly elaborates, “Well, not care so much as focus more on her rather than you. After all she is the bride, and a royal one at that. I know of no bride in all of Christendom who would want to be outshone by any of her wedding guests,” He nods in Lettice’s direction. “However lovely they may be.”
“Thank you, Gerald darling.” Lettice blows her friend a kiss and takes another sip from her tall champagne flute. “There won’t be much chance of that,” Lettice says resignedly, tossing the copy of the Daily Express from her lap irritably onto the black japanned tabletop of the coffee table between them. There on its cover, another romantic photographic portrait of Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon looking demure as she casts her gaze downwards, takes up more than a third of the tabloid’s cover. “Judging by every rag in the city. It’s ‘Elizabeth this’ and ‘Elizabeth that’.”
“I say! Are you just a teensy bit jealous of her, Lettuce Leaf?” Gerald asks teasingly using her abhorred childhood nickname.
“Don’t call me that Gerald!” Lettice warns her friend. “You know I don’t like it.”
“You didn’t mind it when we were four.”
“But I’m not four any more Gerald, and nor are you.” She gives him a doubtful look.
“You are, Lettuce Leaf! You’re jealous of Elizabeth because she has all the attention of the press in the society pages!”
“I wouldn’t say that I’m jealous, exactly, Gerald,” Lettice begins, but she retracts this statement as Gerald looks across at her doubtfully. “Well, maybe I am, just a little bit. I mean, I am very happy for her, and I’m delighted that the press love her and give her positively glowing publicity.” She pauses.
“But?” Gerald probes.
“But, it is getting a little bit tiresome, isn’t it? We’ve barely featured in the society pages since the wedding was announced.”
“We aren’t alone, Lettice darling,” Gerald commiserates. “Barely anyone has.”
“It’s like the whole country has gone Elizabeth mad!”
“I should get Hattie to invest in a wireless.” Gerald ruminates, changing the subject momentarily away from the marriage of Elizabeth Bowes Lyon to the Duke of York***. “If a few of us pooled some money: Hattie, Cyril, Charlie Boy, we might be able to afford one.”
“But what happens if one of Miss Milford’s lodgers decides to leave? What happens with the wireless then? You can’t cut it into sections. Would Cyril or Charles claim custody rights for a few weeks a year?”
The pair laugh at the idea.
“You know, you should come to Hattie’s tonight, Lettice darling.” Gerald says to Lettice as he now draws a pale pink thread through the collar on his lap. “It will be great fun, and far better than sitting here alone, even if you do have your wireless for company.”
“I’m not alone. I have Edith.” Lettice defends, referring to her maid.
“You know what I mean.” He gives her a withering look. “Don’t be tiresome, darling! Being a bottle party**** we’re guaranteed to have some interesting cocktails to drink. You’ve got plenty to choose from in your cocktail cabinet. I’ve got my new banjo***** in the Morris****** because one of Cyril’s orchestra friends who is coming tonight has promised to give me a few lessons on playing it. Come on! It will marvellous fun!”
“I haven’t exactly been invited, Gerald.” She gives him a doubtful look.
“Oh, Hattie won’t mind! The more the merrier, so long as you bring a bottle. In fact, that will make it even merrier, especially if it’s a bottle of gin.” He takes another sip of champagne and raises his flute in his half of a toast. “Being a bunch of theatricals, it might be, well, a bit…”
“Theatrical?”
“Theatrical, yes, but such marvellous fun! We’re quite a tight and fun group, you know,”
“I really don’t know, Gerald.”
Gerald sits up in his seat and puts the collar aside, laying it flat on the black japanned coffee table between them. “Why have you taken against Hattie so, Lettice?”
“I haven’t, Gerald!” she defends. “She’s making me a new hat!”
“Oh pooh to the hat she is making you! I’d say you have.” he counters as he looks at Lettice with a seriousness that he rarely does. “She told me when you visited her to commission her to make your hat for Elizabeth’s wedding, that you were a little bit pompous.”
“Did she?” Lettice’s eyes widen and her expertly plucked brows arch over them at the revelation. “Pompous? Me?”
“Yes, you.” he says pointedly as he picks up the collar again and draws the pink thread through with added concentration. “Certainly, from what she was telling me, and I hate to say this, but you did come across as pompous, darling.”
“That’s rich coming from the man who originally despised Mrs. Hatchett for her up-and-coming middle-class mediocrity.”
“Customers who are more exalted and refined than your second cousins?” Gerald paraphrases from the conversation between Lettice and Harriet as related to him by Harriet.
Lettice blushes.
“You may be friends with Elizabeth, darling, but even when she becomes the Duchess of York, you could hardly call her exalted.”
“She might be Queen one day, Gerald. After all, our King was Duke of York once.”
“But he was always first in line, and we all know that Bertie is not, and the Prince of Wales isn’t going anywhere. He enjoys the adulation of the people too much to not be King one day!”
“Yes, especially of other men’s wives.” Lettice acknowledges.
“And besides, Elizabeth has her own milliner. She’s hardly going to go to Hattie just because she makes you a fetching hat.” He looks reproachfully at Lettice. “Pulling the class card. Really darling! I would have expected better from you. What’s Hattie ever done to you?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing, exactly! So ask again, why have you taken against her so?”
“She’s… she’s…” Lettice stammers as emotions she has kept controlled and to herself begin to build before finally bursting forth. “She’s just so, nice, so pretty, so sweet natured and good tempered.” She pauses. “It’s like she’s a saint! She calls you Gerry and… and she embraces you in such a familiar way when she sees you, and she invites you to bottle parties at her house!”
“Ahh,” Gerald sinks back in his seat. “Finally! The truth will out! You’re jealous of Hattie. You seem to think that she is usurping you in my affections. You think you’ll lose your best friend to her.”
Lettice doesn’t answer, but the guilty look she momentarily gives Gerald coyly before looking away in shame speaks loudly enough for her.
“I never took you for a silly, jealous type, Lettice darling, yet here you are, jealous of two women in one night.”
“I’m not,” Lettice replies guiltily. “Usually.”
“Well, you have nothing to fear from Hattie.” He looks at her earnestly. “It is true that I do love Hattie, and I enjoy her company immensely. She’s great fun and easy to get along with. However, she doesn’t have the shared experience of growing up together that you and I have, Lettice darling. She will never understand the little quirks and language that we share, and nor do I want her to. Hattie is just another friend: a very good friend I hope.” He reaches out his hand to Lettice’s as it dangles limply from her seat. “I can be myself with Hattie, just like I can with you, and you know how precious that is in this unforgiving world of ours,” He looks meaningfully at Lettice. “But you are my best friend, Lettice. You always will be.”
“Really?” Lettice asks meekly.
“Of course! Unless you keep on carrying on like some silly, jealous upper-class snob!”
Lettice feels suitably reprimanded as she sits uncomfortably in her own tub chair, emotionally exposed under the scruitinising gaze of her dearest friend.
“You were the levelling one of the two of us when you first introduced me to Mrs. Hatchett. You said to me that in spite of her upbringing and background, that she was a good and a worthy person and that I shouldn’t be such a snob.”
“I did.”
“Well, isn’t Hattie the same? Like Mrs. Hatchett, she is a bit gauche in that up-and-coming middle-class kind of way. Although to be fair to her, unlike Mrs. Hatchett, she hasn’t had that much of a life to know what is gauche and what is not. Her mother died many years ago, and from what I can gather, her father was a very strict, Victorian man, so Harriet was given little freedom to express her own ideas or experience the world. Now life is like a giant buffet for her, and she doesn’t know what to eat first, or know that she should eat her first course before her second, rather than the reverse way around. She could benefit from a few, more experienced pairs of hands guiding her.”
“Are you suggesting that Miss Milford and I should be friends, Gerald?”
“No,” Gerald admits. “I don’t think you are ever likely to be bosom friends*******, and I believe that you have intimated as much to her on a previous occasion.”
“Does she tell you everything, Gerald darling?” Lettice exclaims.
“Fairly much.” He smiles cheekily.
“I must remember whatever I say to her may not be sacrosanct.”
“Undoubtedly it won’t be, darling.” Gerald assures her without any remorse. “Anyway, even if you aren’t bosom friends, you might at least be a little kinder to Hattie, and certainly less of a prig. Even if you don’t do it for her, do it for me, because she is my friend and I care for her deeply, and you care for me deeply.”
“Well, I can hardly argue with that reasoning, can I?”
“You know, I’m surprised at your behaviour, Lettice.”
“Why? You get jealous too. Tell me that you weren’t even a little bit jealous of Arabella when she and Leslie announced their marriage?”
“Well of course I was jealous of her!” Gerald admits readily. “I have a horrible green monster that lies not too far beneath the surface of my shallow self, darling. I am jealous of Arabella because she snagged the Chetwynd with the looks whom I desired. I’m jealous of Roland, because as the eldest son, he seems to be completely beyond contempt for any of the scandals he creates, whereas Father punishes me for even the smallest misdemeanour. I’m jealous whenever I see another man look so much as sideways at Cyril across the crowded floor of a molly-house********. Hell, I’m even jealous of you sometimes, Lettice.”
“Of me?” Lettice gasps, raising a hand to her chest.
“Of course, of you, you silly thing.” Gerald replies, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world for Lettice to know.
“Why are you jealous of me? It surely can’t be because of my looks. You’re every bit as handsome as I am pretty. As a woman, I am bound by strictures imposed upon me by my family, my place in society and my very sex since birth about what I can or can’t do, where I go and with whom.”
“Look at our lives, darling!” Gerald exclaims in exasperation. “You have money in the bank, or indeed money to burn. I on the other hand rely on the largess of friends and live on a pittance, throwing every spare penny I can make back into my business. If your business were to falter, you’d be fine, perhaps suffering the gloating of the likes of Sadie who would goad you with ‘I told you sos’ and ‘I knew she couldn’t do it’, but you would survive. As for me, if my fashion house folds, I’m ruined. I have nothing whatever to fall back on, and I would have creditors going unpaid who would hunt me down, or hound me until I am dead. I could end up in debtors’ prison. And thinking of prison,” he goes on seriously. “Regardless of the societal restrictions you are faced with, at least you and Selwyn can be seen in public together as a couple. Cyril and I can’t. I’m not Ned Warren*********, so I have no fortune to keep the gossiping staff well below stairs.”
“Thinking of which, I had dinner with Selwyn a few weeks ago, and he asked me if you had a Gaiety Girl********** hidden away somewhere.”
“I hope you didn’t disabuse him of that idea.”
“I most certainly did!” Lettice defends. “I wasn’t going to lie to him.” It is only when the colour drains from Gerald’s face does she realise the mistake her words have led him to make and she quickly adds. “Oh, not about Cyril, darling! I didn’t tell him about Cyril! I’m not that brainless, even if I can be a snob.” She smiles as she sees the relief in his face. “No, he asked me why you hadn’t been to your club for a while, and thought it might be because you had a chorus girl to amuse you more so than he and the other club members might. I simply told him that you were engaged in business and that was what took up your time.”
“Well, that isn’t entirely untrue.”
“Listen Gerald,” Lettice says seriously, looking her friend directly in the eyes. “I’ll make a deal with you.”
“A deal?” Gerald’s eyebrows arch over his glittering eyes, a smirk causing the edges of his mouth to turn upwards at the end.
“I’m serious, Gerald.”
“Alight! Alright!” Gerald drops his needle and holds his hands up in defeat. “No frivolousness.”
“I will try and be nicer, and less jealous of Harriet. I’ll even try to help her.”
“Oh, thank you, Lettice darling.”
“But” Lettice wags her finger warningly at Gerald. “Only if you will promise me that you’ll be careful to be discreet with Cyril.”
“I’m always discreet, Lettice darling!” Gerald assures her.
“I know you are, Gerald darling,” Lettice replies. “But in my few brief meetings with him, it seems to me that Cyril sometimes is not, and I worry for both of you.”
Gerald observes the look of concern that clouds his best friend’s face.
“I promise I’ll be discreet enough for both of us.” He holds up his glass and Lettice and Gerald click champagne flutes in agreement to both the agreements they have made.
*A Peter Pan collar is a style of clothing collar, flat in design with rounded corners. It is named after the collar of Maude Adams's costume in her 1905 role as Peter Pan, although similar styles had been worn before this date. Peter Pan collars were particularly fashionable during the 1920s and 1930s.
**Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, as she was known at the beginning of 1923 when this story is set, went on to become Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions from 1936 to 1952 as the wife of King George VI. Whilst still Duke of York, Prince Albert initially proposed to Elizabeth in 1921, but she turned him down, being "afraid never, never again to be free to think, speak and act as I feel I really ought to". He proposed again in 1922 after Elizabeth was part of his sister, Mary the Princess Royal’s, wedding party, but she refused him again. On Saturday, January 13th, 1923, Prince Albert went for a walk with Elizabeth at the Bowes-Lyon home at St Paul’s, Walden Bury and proposed for a third and final time. This time she said yes. The wedding took place on April 26, 1923 at Westminster Abbey.
***Prince Albert, Duke of York, known by the diminutive “Bertie” to the family and close friends, was the second son of George V. He was never expected to become King, but came to the throne after his elder brother David, the Prince of Wales, abdicated in 1936 so that he could marry the love of his life American divorcée, Wallis Simpson. Although not schooled in being a ruler, Bertie, who styled himself as George VI as a continuation of his father, became King of United Kingdom and the Dominions from 1936 to 1952, and saw Britain through some of its darkest days, becoming one of the most popular monarchs in British history.
****Bottle parties, a private party to which each guest brings their own liquor, came into vogue during the 1920s and 30s initially especially after prohibition in America and liquor licence restrictions in Britain.
*****Originating out of America during the 1920s the banjo quickly gained popularity in Britain too because it was reasonably cheap as an instrument, portable, easy to learn on and musical duelling matches were played like draughts or chess.
******Morris Motors Limited was a privately owned British motor vehicle manufacturing company established in 1919. With a reputation for producing high-quality cars and a policy of cutting prices, Morris's business continued to grow and increase its share of the British market. By 1926 its production represented forty-two per cent of British car manufacturing. Amongst their more popular range was the Morris Cowley which included a four-seat tourer which was first released in 1920.
*******The term bosom friend is recorded as far back as the late Sixteenth Century. In those days, the bosom referred to the chest as the seat of deep emotions, though now the word usually means a woman's “chest.” A bosom friend, then, is one you might share these deep feelings with or have deep feelings for.
********A molly-house was a term used in Eighteenth, Nineteenth and early Twentieth-century Britain for a meeting place for homosexual men. The meeting places were generally taverns, public houses, or coffeehouses known to be regular haunts of such men, or even private rooms. Molly-houses were places where men could either socialise or meet possible sexual partners. Although the gathering of homosexual men was not strictly illegal, the act of homosexual acts between men was, which made molly-houses dangerous for men should there be a police raid.
*********Edward Perry Warren, known as Ned Warren, was an American art collector and the author of works proposing an idealized view of homosexual relationships. He is now best known as the former owner of the Warren Cup in the British Museum.
**********Gaiety Girls were the chorus girls in Edwardian musical comedies, beginning in the 1890s at the Gaiety Theatre, London, in the shows produced by George Edwardes.
This 1920s upper-class drawing room is different to what you may think at first glance, for it is made up entirely of 1:12 size dollhouse miniatures from my miniatures collection.
Fun things to look for in this tableau include:
Gerald’s magnificent sewing box with its mirrored lid, silver and russet brocade padding and russet trimming, and ball feet is a 1:12 artisan miniature. It’s interior is full of sewing paraphernalia. Made by an unknown artisan, it came from Kathleen Knight’s Dolls House Shop in the United Kingdom.
The embroidered collar for Lettice’s royal wedding outfit that Gerald has been working on is actually a piece of beautiful scalloped ribbon that was given to me at Christmas time by a very close friend of mine. The silver dressmaking scissors on top of it came from an online stockist of miniatures on E-Bay.
The newspaper sitting underneath the collar featuring an image of Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, the future Queen Elizabeth and one day Queen Mother, is a copy of a real Daily Mail newspaper from 1923 and was produced to high standards in 1:12 by Little Things Dollhouse Miniatures in Lancashire.
The champagne flutes that are filled with glittering golden yellow champagne were made by Karen Ladybug Miniatures in the United Kingdom.
The brass wireless in the background, which is remarkably heavy for its size, comes from Melody Jane’s Doll House Supplies in the United Kingdom.
Lettice’s drawing room is furnished with beautiful J.B.M. miniatures. The Art Deco tub chairs are of black japanned wood and have removable cushions, just like their life sized examples. To the left of the fireplace is a Hepplewhite drop-drawer bureau and chair of black japanned wood which has been hand painted with chinoiserie designs, even down the legs and inside the bureau. The chair set has a rattan seat, which has also been hand woven. To the right of the fireplace is a Chippendale cabinet which has also been decorated with chinoiserie designs. It also features very ornate metalwork hinges and locks.
The fireplace is a 1:12 miniature resin Art Deco fireplace which is flanked by brass accessories including an ash brush with real bristles.
The carpet beneath the furniture is a copy of a popular 1920s style Chinese silk rug, and the geometric Art Deco wallpaper is beautiful hand impressed paper given to me by a friend, which inspired the whole “Cavendish Mews – Lettice Chetwynd” series.
Place de la Concorde 16/08/2025 17h42
The proposed redevelopment of Place de la Concorde in Paris by Snøhetta and collaborators is an elegant and thoughtful reinvention of one of Europe’s most iconic urban squares. Rooted in respect for the layered history of the site—drawing on the legacies of architects such as Ange‑Jacques Gabriel and Jacques-Louis Hittorff—this project aims to reassert the square’s global stature while simultaneously responding to contemporary imperatives of climate adaptation, mobility, and civic life.
Here we see the current situation. Traffic is already moved towards the left at the side of the Avenue des Champs-Élysées.
Place de la Concorde
The Place de la Concorde is one of the major public squares in Paris, France. Measuring 8.64 hectares in area, it is the largest square in the French capital. It is located in the city's eighth arrondissement, at the eastern end of the Champs-Élysées.
The Place was designed by Ange-Jacques Gabriel in 1755 as a moat-skirted octagon between the Champs-Élysées to the west and the Tuileries Gardens to the east. Decorated with statues and fountains, the area was named Place Louis XV to honor the king at that time. The square showcased an equestrian statue of the king, which had been commissioned in 1748 by the city of Paris, sculpted mostly by Edmé Bouchardon, and completed by Jean-Baptiste Pigalle after the death of Bouchardon. The stone is made of a combination of lime and blue stone. The chemical compounds have let it survive for so long under acid rain.
At the north end, two magnificent identical stone buildings were constructed. Separated by the rue Royale, these structures remain among the best examples of Louis XV style architecture. Initially, the eastern building served as the French Naval Ministry. Shortly after its construction, the western building became the opulent home of the Duc d'Aumont. It was later purchased by the Comte de Crillon, whose family resided there until 1907. The famous luxury Hôtel de Crillon, which currently occupies the building, took its name from its previous owners; it was the headquarters of the German High Command during World War II.
During the French Revolution the statue of Louis XV of France was torn down and the area renamed "Place de la Révolution". The new revolutionary government erected the guillotine in the square, and it was here that King Louis XVI was executed on 21 January 1793. Other important figures guillotined on the site, often in front of cheering crowds, were Queen Marie Antoinette, Princess Élisabeth of France, Charlotte Corday, Madame du Barry, Georges Danton, Camille Desmoulins, Antoine Lavoisier, Maximilien Robespierre, Louis de Saint-Just and Olympe de Gouge.
The guillotine was most active during the "Reign of Terror", in the summer of 1794, when in a single month more than 1,300 people were executed. A year later, when the revolution was taking a more moderate course, the guillotine was removed from the square.
The square was then renamed Place de la Concorde under the Directory as a symbolic gesture of reconciliation after the turmoil of the French Revolution. It underwent a series of name changes in the nineteenth century, but the city eventually settled on Place de la Concorde.
Facts and Figures:
Quartier: La Madeleine
Length: 359 meters
Width: 212 meters
Creation: 1772
Posture is imperative. Always be aware of your standing position. Keep your head up and chest out. Keep your arms and legs close to your body. Women are much more relaxed and angular while standing. Try putting most of your weight on one foot and push your hip out slightly to the side let the opposite leg relax and bend your knee a little. This is a very feminine stance.
OR
Try standing very straight with your feet only a few inches apart. Shoulders back and relaxed. Let your arms fall free in front and clasp your hands together lightly with palms up. Hold a purse in your hands or over your shoulder while standing like this. A great comfortable look when waiting in line, chatting with someone etc..
Makeup and styling by the talented Kelayla of www.transvista.co.uk/
DSC09944
9 Feb 18
Barn Swallow with nesting material. Unfortunately they want to build under my front porch. Waiting for me to leave so they can go about their business.